Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid — a vocal opponent of the Washington Redskins name — took to the floor Wednesday and continued to slam the team’s owner in light of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s decision to cancel the team’s trademarks.

“The Redskins no longer have trademarks. They are gone,” the Nevada Democrat said. “Daniel Snyder may be the last person in the world to realize this, but it’s just a matter of time until he is forced to do the right thing and change the name.”

Nancy Pelosi around the same time:

Today’s great actions by the @USPTO show that slurs have no right to trademark protections. The DC football team must choose a new name.

The Obama administration joined a lawsuit opposing the Washington Redskins‘ team trademark on Friday, filing court papers to defend the federal law that gives the government the power to deny recognition to trademarks it believes to be disparaging.

The Patent and Trademark Office’s appeals board had revoked the NFL team’s trademarks last year, finding that they were offensive and so they weren’t protected under federal law.

The Supreme Court on Monday struck down part of a law that bans offensive trademarks in a ruling that is expected to help the Washington Redskins in their legal fight over the team name.

The justices ruled that the 71-year-old trademark law barring disparaging terms infringes on free speech rights.
[…]
Redskins owner Dan Snyder said he was “thrilled” with the Supreme Court’s ruling, and team attorney Lisa Blatt said the court’s decision effectively resolves the Redskins’ longstanding dispute with the government.

“The Supreme Court vindicated the Team’s position that the First Amendment blocks the government from denying or cancelling a trademark registration based on the government’s opinion,” Blatt said in a statement.